The Power Stone Chronicles
by Riku Courtier
Summary: 7 friends from Earth find themselves on the adventure of their lives when they find out they are part of an ancient prophecy that spans through 2 different worlds. Rated T because just in case.
1. Prologue

Chapter 1

It was a late summer evening in the beautiful state of Montana. The town where my story takes place is already fast asleep. That is, except for me. My name is Caity Sphere. I'm a 15 year old girl that has many passions, such as music, anime, reading, and, most of all, video games, especially Mario games.

My best friends and I love anime so much that we call ourselves The Anime Brigade. The seven of us But, I think I'll start this story the night before it all happened. It kinda went like this:

I was under my covers with my flashlight, reading my favorite book "The many adventures of the Super Mario Brothers". And you know, being the obsessed fan that I was, I had already read through the book three times, but, to tell you the truth, it never got old. The thought of being able to go to a completely different world, busting up bad guys, and saving the person you loved just seemed so…I guess amazing is the word I would use. Well, anyway, back to the book, I just so happened to be reading the most important part when the light bulb in my flashlight burned out.

Ugh!" I thought, "I was just getting to the best part." Fortunately for me, I knew my dad kept an extra flashlight up on top of the refrigerator, so quietly, I got up from my warm, comfy covers and tiptoed to the kitchen. When I got to the fridge, I reached up to try to grab the flashlight. I managed to get my hand around it, but when I tried to get it down, everything that was around the flashlight fell off the top of the fridge and down onto the hard wood floor, causing a lot of noise. I held my breath, hoping beyond hope that nobody heard that. But, a stern, but loving, voice coming from behind me proved me wrong.

"Caity, what are you doing?"

"Mom" I mentally sighed, "Why me? Why now? Ugh, I was so close too!" I thought while I turned around to face her. "Hi Mom."

"Why are you up so late? And why do you have that flashlight in your hand?" My mom spat questions out faster than a golf ball shooter.

It was then that I realized that I still had the flashlight in my hand, and I hurriedly tried to hide it behind my back, but it was too late. I saw the look of realization flash across my mom's face and I knew I'd been caught. You see, my bed time was 10'o'clock (yes, I still have a bed time during summer vacation.) and that had been HOURS AGO.

"Have you been reading under the covers again?"

I hung my head, knowing I was defeated. "Yes." I barely whispered.

I heard my mom sigh. "Sweetie, this is the third time this week that you've stayed up past your bedtime. I'm sorry to have to do this, but I'm going to have to ask you to give me the flashlight."

Reluctantly, I held out my hand to give it to her. She took it and pointed a finger toward my room. Giving a stern look, she told me, "Now go to bed." Then her face softened, "Besides, don't you have a meeting with your friends tomorrow?"

I almost freaked out right there in the kitchen. I had COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN about our meeting tomorrow. Every Friday, we would meet at the clubhouse in my backyard. It had absolutely slipped my mind tomorrow was Friday when I had gone to bed, so I hurriedly said good night to my mom, and rushed into my room, eager to get to sleep.

But, if I had known it was going to be the last time I was going to be sleeping in my bed, I would've clutched my Mario and Luigi plushies like the end of the world.

*In an unknown place*

A lone figure rushes through a torch lit hallway, his left claw clutching a worn out scroll which looked like it had seen better days. He was running toward the giant red door at the end. He stops just before he runs into the door and frantically knocks on it with his right clawed hand repeatedly.

"ENTER." A booming voice calls from inside the room where the door leads. The figure hesitates for a moment, and then pushes open the door.

The room was dimly lit and lava could be seen flowing through cracks in the walls. It smelt of sulfur and partly rotting flesh. A pile of bones was laying menacingly in a corner. And, in the middle of all this, sitting on an elaborately decorated throne, was a person…per say. The person was royalty, but the only way you would know that is by the crown on his head, which lay on a tangle of flaming red hair. Amidst the mess of hair, two sharp horns protruded out of his skull. His eyes were blood red, and if you looked deep within, you could tell that this person had seen a lot of bloodshed, mostly of his own doing. His claws are stained with blood and ripped flesh, some of it recent. The scowl on his face clearly showed that this king was not in a good mood. His presence itself spread fear and terror into the hearts of those who see him.

The figure that stood in the door trembled in fear, afraid that his king would put this anger out on him.

The king finally broke the silence that had settled between the two beings. "Ah, my most trusted advisor. I suspect you have some news for me…"

"I do, My Liege. But I fear it is not good news." The figure said, all the while approaching the throne.

"Well, come on then, Spit it out!" The king exclaimed, his patience thinning.

"Yes, Yes, of course My Liege. I have been doing some research about a legend that I heard of recently and it appears I may have found something that you should know." the figure said, unraveling the scroll for the royal to see.

"Well?"

"From what the legend says, when the world is thrown into darkness, stones of great power will be bestowed upon 7 otherworldly warriors. The warriors will then expel the darkness back from whence it came. The 7 warriors will be protectors of the world from farther crisis."

The King frowned, "And this concerns me because…?"

"My lord, I fear that when it says they will protect the world, I'm afraid that will mean they will challenge your empire, especially since you want to take over this world."

"Well, then, you do have a point. What do you suggest we do?"

"Well, I just so happen to know whom these 'otherworldly warriors' are. Here are their names." The figure said, taking a piece of crumbled up paper out of its pocket and handing it to the king. The royal looked over the paper, an evil grin starting to appear upon his face.

"Well?" the figure asked, his voice filled with anticipation.

The king motions for the advisor to leave.

The advisor turned to go, but the voice of his King halted him.

"Oh, and one more thing." The King said to his advisor.

"Yes?"

The King stands up from his throne, a menacing grin creeping onto his face. "Call my children to come in here. I have a job for them to do."


	2. How Everything Started

Chapter 2

She could not believe her eyes. She'd spent so much time preparing for this day, only for it all to blow up in her face. Glaring her in the face was her alarm clock, which displayed the numbers 11:42 on it. They would be here in a matter of minutes and she had only just now woken up.

Why did this have to happen today of all days?

Why...?

* * *

My eyes slowly pried open, adjusting to the light pouring in through my window, making the need for a flashlight redundant. It was all a dream, I still had some time to prepare.

I rolled over and looked at my alarm clock.

11:43

"HOLY CHEESE BALLS!" I shouted, now fully awake.

I sprang out of bed, sending my pillow into the air, and grabbed a change of clothes for the day and raced to the shower.

Then my pillow hit the floor.

After showering, combing my hair, and brushing my mouth out of any germs, I was ready to begin my day. I reached for the doorknob to the bathroom, but then remembered my clothes.

'Ugh, how embarrassing.' I thought, putting on my clothes, which were made up of a purple spaghetti strap shirt, a thin white jacket, blue-ish purple jeans, a white loop belt and purple and white tennis shoes.

I then raced downstairs to the kitchen and glanced at the clock on the stove.

11:54

'Maybe I was overreacting.' I thought to myself, seeing as how I still had 6 minutes. 'Oh well, better than being late.'

I slumped over to the fridge and swiped a juice box out of it and then got a granola bar out of a cabinet next to the fridge. Didn't want the juice getting lonely now, did I?

As I sat down at the table enjoying my prizes, I heard a knock at the door. It was 11:56. They came early, so I'd made the right choice to get ready ASAP.

"Caity! !" I heard my friend Aletha shouting outside the door.

I just shook my head. "Aletha, you and Erika are the _only_ people I know who can be **this** hyper in the morning." I said while opening the door to find her standing there with one of my other friends, Erika.

"Caity, it's already noon." Aletha gave a look that had 'Duh' written all over it.

"Oh…right…" I said slowly, " Anyway, have you guys seen everyone else yet?"

Erika nodded. "Yeah, actually, Anthony is right over there pulling some stunts on his bike…again."

I looked over in the direction she was pointing, and, sure enough, Anthony was doing a backwards wheelie on his bike…with no hands on the handles. Wow, I have absolutely _no_ _idea_ how he's able to do it and not hurt himself.

CRASH!

Oooo-kay… looks like I spoke too soon. I could hear Anthony's best friend, Xavier, calling out to him from down the street.

"Hey Anthony! You alright?"

"YEAH! I'm Fine! It's Just A Flesh Wound! Nothing Too Serious!"

I shook my head again. _Every time_ he says that, it's almost always serious. At _least _to the point of him having to clean it out with peroxide.

I walked out and went over to the gate outside our house, Erika and Aletha following close behind. I looked over to the right of us and saw Anthony lying in a pile of trash (probably remnants from the knocked over trashcan next to him) and Xavier and our other 'guy friend' Josh standing over him.

"Dude…That was an epic fall." Josh stated.

"Yeah, an epic _**fail**_ of a fall!" I glanced over to look down the other way of the street and saw our last friend, Lexie, walking toward us.

"Yeah, I can't believe you didn't even have the balls to-"

"Lexie!" I yelled.

She peered over to her left to see me with my arms crossed and my foot tapping.

"Lexie, do _not_ get started on the dirty jokes, alright? It's too early for it!" I reprimanded her.

She laughed. "You're kidding, right? It's too early? I've already said 12 in the past hour! I'm just getting started!"

I facepalmed. "I mean it, Lexie! No Dirty Jokes!"

"Aww! But I was wanting to say something about how you want to get in Ant-"

Luckily enough, Xavier was close enough to reach his arm over to her and slap her upside the head.

"Lexie, that's enough! Caity asked you to stop! Now quit it before you scar her for life…again!"

But, the damage had been done. When she had started saying that, I could feel my face starting to burn from blushing. And, by the time she had almost finished, my face had already turned a bright, bright red.

I just kinda stood there for a few minutes while Xavier was talking to Lexie, but I snapped out of it a little while later. I tried to compose myself as best I could (I've had to deal with plenty of this from Lexie before. She's like that.) before I took control of the situation again.

"Well, now that _that's_ over, how about we all head to the clubhouse so we can start our meeting?" I said.

Everyone who wasn't in the yard already walked over.

Anthony walked slowly in with a little bit of used coffee grounds in his hair and some kind of stain on his shirt that hadn't been there before. His face was just as red as mine had been. Especially when he looked at me because, after he did, he quickly turned away again.

Josh gimped (yes, I said _gimped_) in with Xavier right beside him, the two of them talking about the epic dive into the trash that Anthony had taken.

Lexie was the last one to walk in. She headed toward me and pulled me into a hug, which, in return, pulled my face into her chest. That made me feel really uncomfortable and very annoyed. I hate how almost _all_ my friends are taller than me.

"I'm sorry about earlier. But it's just so fun to tease you about that, ya know?"

I sighed. "Yes, Lexie. I know. Now, can you please stop squishing me into your boobs?"

She let go of me a minute later. Dang, if I thought that my face couldn't get any redder earlier, it certainly couldn't now. I hated it when she did that. And she knows it. That's why she does it.

"Alright, well, shall we head to the clubhouse now?"

"Yeah, sure, _Miss President._" Lexie said prudently, then turned to head to the back. I followed closely after her.

~In The Clubhouse~

We were all situated in, with me standing up on the _leader's pedestal_. Yes, I'm the leader of our squad. Don't ask how _I _ended up as the leader, I just did. What was even weirder, was that, when we were starting this squad and choosing who gets which position, it ended up being a unanimous vote for me to be the leader. I just don't understand how that could've happened. Maybe…they were high on pixie stix that day?

Well, anyway, I digress. I focused back onto our meeting and looked over to Erika, letting her know it was time to start.

She cleared her voice. The members who had been talking, which would be _everyone_, quickly quieted down.

"Everyone, it is time for the meeting of The Anime Squad to come to order. Now, our secretary, Lexie, will read over the notes from last week." Erika said calmly.

Lexie pulled our her notebook, which she used to write down our notes from every week. We always checked back on what happened the week before, just in case we forgot something that was important.

"Well, let's see…Caity fangirled about the new Mario game that's coming out soon…"

"I'M STILL FANGIRLING OVER IT!"

"Anthony was freaking out over a new trick he was going to learn **"

"I'VE ALMOST GOT IT!"

"A new flavor of pixie stix came out last week and Aletha was hyper off her butt cause she'd eaten so many…"

"THEY'RE GREEN APPLE!" Insane giggling. Everyone scooted a little farther away from her while she did this.

Anthony leaned in to whisper into Xavier's ear, albeit, a little louder than he normally would've. "You know, I don't think she should be allowed to eat sugar…"

Aletha whirled around in her chair and shouted, "**Well, you know what? I don't think you should be allowed on a bike!**"

"FYI! I am great on a bike! And you-" Anthony jabbed his finger at her. "-you are _not_ great on sugar."

They were in each others faces now.

"Bull. Spit." Aletha growled.

In case you can't tell, Anthony and Aletha don't get along. Ever since that time in 3rd grade when Aletha stole Anthony's underwear… and pants during gym, well, lets just say that they've been at each other's throats ever since.

Their yelling just kept getting louder and louder until, finally, I couldn't take it anymore.

"_**Alright! That's it! Break it up, you two! Aletha, Anthony, sit down! NOW!"**_

Aletha turned to me and started shouting at me next. "_**You're always taking his side just because you like him! Just because you have a-mmph! Mmmph-mmmphmmph-mmph!**_" Thankfully, Erika had gotten up and put her hand over Aletha's mouth before anything else was said.

"Lexie! Please! Just Keep Going With The Notes…_**NOW!**_" Erika said commandingly.

Lexie nodded and continued on. "A new MCR concert was last week and Josh missed the meeting because of it."

"It Was Awesome, Dudette."

"Erika's netflix now carries Inyuyasha episodes and she was really happy about that."

"They are _amazing _(_and in Japanese_)_!_"

"Xavier got a Death Note box set, and he is willing to share it with anyone who wants to watch it."

"_**ME!"**_ Erika shouted, raising her hand. "**I want it!**"

Xavier chuckled. "Alright, talk to me after the meeting about it, k?"

Erika nodded happily and motioned for Lexie to finish, all the while still humming the Death Note song Zetsubou Billy creepily under her breath.

"And I found a crapload of dirty jokes that I can-"

"_**NO! Don't Tell Them!"**_ Everyone shouted.

"Geez, tough crowd. Oh…and there's one more. Caity announced last meeting that we'll be leaving for our annual camping trip today. Caity, would you like to go over the details again?"

I nodded, glad to finally get to say something again. "Yes, thank you Lexie. As soon as the meeting is over, we're going to have some time to get everything packed, if some of us haven't done it already. Next, after we've got everything we're taking with us together, we meet back here. Then my parents will drive us up to our camping spot and drop us off for the weekend. Any questions?"

"_**Can I bring Pixie Stix?**_" Aletha shouted, bouncing in her chair.

"_**NO!**_" Anthony shouted back.

Aletha turned and would've tackled him to the ground, were it not for Josh holding her back.

"Ugh. Not again, Aletha. Just please sit down." I asked exasperatingly.

Josh plunked her down into her seat, where she sat, pouting.

I sighed. "Ok, any other questions?"

Aletha raised her hand.

"That _isn't _pixie stix related?"

Aletha put her hand back down and went back to pouting.

"No? Ok, good. Alright, everyone meet back here as soon as you're ready. This meeting is adjourned." I said, getting down from the pedestal.

~About 30 mins. later~

Everyone had left and I was back upstairs, packing my bags.

"Hmm…What to bring?" I thought to myself out loud. It took a lot of thinking and going over the different possibilities before I eventually was able to decide on what to bring. I gathered everything I was taking with me onto my bed and started arranging it all into my backpack.

Here's what I ended up packing: my DSI XL, plus my charger (you never know when you'll need it…), GBA SP with charger, my game case, my Mario and Luigi plushies, my Mario mushroom pillow, My awesome Mario Bros. sleeping bag, the map of the Mushroom Kingdom that I'd been making, 'The many adventures of the Super Mario Bros.', My ipod along with my ipod cord, plus my hunting and survival supplies, which included a hunting knife that my dad had gotten me for my birthday this year. I also packed a few changes of clothes (day and night clothes), some food supplies, water bottles, and our giant tent from the garage was going as well.

I was able to get everything into my camping backpack, well, everything except the sleeping bag and the tent. My sleeping bag strapped to the top of my backpack though, so it worked out fine. I went out and got all of it piled into the back of the truck by the time everyone else made it back.

Erika and Xavier arrived back first. Erika was dressed in a grey sweatshirt with a golden cat on the front of it. Her blue eyes were shining brightly behind her glasses. Her curly brown hair was hidden underneath a blue hat with a yellow imp pin attached to it. The black pants and yellow boots helped complete a look that was _just sooo Erika. _Xavier was dressed in his loosely button dress shirt with a black tie. His way overused jeans that just needed to be thrown out already were covering his black shoes. As for his hair, his short blond hair was parted over his left green eye, allowing only his right to be shown. The two of them were talking about the Death Note box set that Xavier had. Erika looked pretty excited.

I called out to them from the tailgate. "Hey guys! The two of you set for a weekend of fun?"

Both of them looked up and, at the same time, replied with a yes before going back to talking with each other.

I grinned. I was really looking forward to this weekend. Every year, at around this time when it tended to be the warmest, we'd all take time away from our homes and families and go camping together, just the seven of us. We always had a lot of fun on these trips.

"Hey Erika, Xavier, toss your bags up here and I'll get them set, k?"

They both stopped talking again and Xavier grabbed his and Erika's bags and climbed onto the tailgate.

"Here ya go, Caity." Xavier said with a smile.

I smiled back. "Thanks Xavier."

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm so glad to be getting away from my family this weekend. I really need it!"

The three of us looked down to the end of the street and saw Lexie walking toward us. Lexie is a 16 year old with blond hair and dark blue eyes. As you might've seen from earlier, Lexie is the dirtiest of us all. She's also the one with the anger management problem and she's also a bit of a pyro…I might even go so far as to say pyromaniac.

She was dressed in a dark red, almost burgundy, shirt with a gray jacket over it. She had on biker pants and biker boots as well. A red hemp necklace was around her neck and, in her arms, was a gray, black, and red gloomy bear. Her eyes were toned with a dark gray eyeshadow and her long blond hair was put in a ponytail. A small red laptop bag was over her shoulder and her main bag was next to her on the ground.

"Oh wow. I'm not the last one here? Cool."

Josh was behind Lexie and was gimping his way toward us. As usual, he wore his long black overcoat _just _to see if we would make a remark about it. He also had a dress shirt on, though, instead of the blood red that Xav was wearing, white was the color he'd chosen, along with the black tie that lay in disarray on the front. His pants were black, buckly pants. And, for his shoes, black boots that were almost like Erika's. His hair was a lot like Xav's, only with his being black instead of the bright blond that Xavier was. His grey eyes were darting left and right, as if looking out for something…or someone.

"Yo Lex! Josh! Toss your bags up here and Caity and I will get everything settled!" I smiled. I could see why Erika liked Xavier so much. He was such a gentleman.

"Thanks Xav." Lexie said, tossing her main bag up into the truck toward us.

Josh gimped up to the car and handed me his. "Here you go, Caity."

I nodded and was just about to get ready to put it up when I saw the last two members showed up.

Both Anthony and Aletha were coming toward the truck, each of them from different sides of the street. When the two of them saw each other, they both turned their heads away with a 'Humph'. I guess they were still sour about the spat they had earlier.

Anthony was wearing a white short sleeved jacket with an orange long sleeved shirt underneath. As usual, he had his pendant around his neck. His brown eyes matched his shaggy hair in color. His jeans were in as much disrepair as Xavier's, but Anthony was wearing a white belt with his, unlike Xav. Dark tennis shoes completed his look.

Aletha just looked absolutely adorable. Atop her head lay a blue newsboy hat while just below it, her hair shaggy black with white streaks. She was wearing a long sleeved black shirt with light blue stars and stripes on it. The left side of her shirt was hanging off her shoulder, showing her black bra strap underneath. She had her grey overnight bag over her shoulder and front, hanging down on her left side. The light blue bell-bottoms she had on had crisscrossing stitches towards the bottom. Her bright blue boots complemented her equally bright blue eyes.

I sighed. "Alright, you two. Just hand me your bags and then we can get go-" I didn't even finish the word I was saying when Anthony looked over at Aletha again and, judging by the look on his face, he looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"Oh my god…Aletha! I thought we said no sugar!" Anthony yelled.

At first, I didn't know what he was talking about, but then I looked at what was in Aletha's hands. In her hands was a Monster…a _blue_ Monster. A _huge blue _Monster. I widened my eyes. I had a feeling this wasn't going to end well at all.

Aletha smiled sweetly. "You said no Pixy Stix. Never mentioned anything else."

Anthony steamed but didn't reply.

Aletha took a _long_ drink of her Monster before dropping her bag off on the end of the tailgate. "Here ya go guys! Whenever you're ready to go, I am!"

I smiled. "Alright then! Before we leave, I only have one question. Does anyone need to go to the bathroom?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"No? Then _**ALRIGHT!**_ Let's Go!" I shouted with a huge grin on my face. We all cheered and climbed into the tailgate with our bags.

My dad walked over to us and gave me a hug. "Ok, kids. You all know my safety rules about being back here in the tailgate, right?"

We all nodded. "Yes Papa! We do. Don't worry, we got it." I said, giving him the thumbs up.

He smiled. "Alright then. Hold on tight then!" he said before getting into the drivers seat.

My mom walked out to see us off. She was standing off to the side, a huge grin plastered on her face.

"You all be careful now, ya hear?" she called to us.

"Don't worry mom! We will! I love you! Bye!" I called back to her as we pulled out of our driveway and towards our campsite.

~Later~

"Bye Dad! I love you! See you when the weekend is over!" I yelled to my dad as he drove off, leaving us at our campsite.

I turned and could see Xavier getting a fire started in the pit with Erika helping him. Lexie was standing over them, her eyes wild as she watched the flames.

Aletha was running around with a wild look on her face. Either she was really happy to be back here at our usual spot or she was just hyper from her Monster. I'd go with the latter one.

Anthony and Josh were getting the hammock ready, since our tents were already set up.

I sighed happily. I loved getting to come here. It was a secluded place away from normal campsites near Lake Como, so we had no annoying neighbors to bother us. I breathed in deeply, taking in the smell of the pine trees and the lake. Ah, so heavenly!

"Hey Caity! Can you come here please?"

I snapped out of my indulgence and walked over to Erika, who had been the one who'd called me.

"I need your help getting the food ready."

I nodded and got to work. I can't believe it's been a whole year since we've been camping here last. It seemed like so long ago, but, yet, I still remember everything that happened.

Lexie had been playing with the fire while Anthony was chasing Aletha around, trying to get her pixie stixs away from her. She had been laughing insanely. I had been practicing my guitar when Aletha ran into me and sent me and my guitar sprawling out onto the ground. I started chasing after her along with Anthony. Xavier, Josh, and Erika had been playing a game when we all crashed into each other into one big pile. We ended up laughing so hard from the craziness of it all. It was such a great memory.

"…ning"

I snapped out of my memories. "Huh, what?"

Erika sighed. "I said, the food is burning."

I looked down at the pan I had been using to make the burgers for tonight and saw that, sure enough, they were nearly burnt to a crisp. Some of them even had flames coming off them.

"Ahh!" I yelped, pulling the pan out of the fire and trying to put the flames out on the patties.

"Caity! Watch out!" Lexie yelled as Aletha went flying past me.

The shock of Aletha running by me so fast made me fall backwards, sending the patties flying into the air and onto Anthony's head.

"AHHH! HOT HOT HOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOT!" Anthony yelled before running towards the ice cooler and sticking his head in. I could hear him whimpering from inside the cooler.

I looked over at Xavier, Erika, and Lexie before bursting out laughing. That…was…just…_perfect_!

We stayed laughing like that a little while longer before getting back to work on dinner. Yep, this trip was going to be fun…or…so I thought.

~After Dinner~

"Ahh, I'm Stuffed!" Xavier exclaimed. "I don't think I can eat another bite."

Erika chuckled. "It was _that_ _good_ Xavier?"

Xavier nodded. "Yeah, you and Caity are pretty good cooks, Erika."

Erika smiled. "Why, thank you!"

I smiled to myself. Those two were almost becoming inseparable now. I turned over to Anthony. "Hey Anthony, how was it?"

"Well, I can truthfully say that I like it a lot better in my stomach than on my head." He said playfully.

I laughed. "So, I take it you liked it?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it was really good."

I smiled, than leaned over so I could see Josh. He was still nomming on his burger.

"So, what about you, Josh? You like it?" I asked inquiringly.

He opened his mouth, sorry, his _full_ mouth to speak, but then quickly closed it again before chewing and swallowing. "It's absolutely delicious. My compliments to the chef."

I nodded, then looked over to where Aletha and Lexie were sitting. "So, Lexie, Aletha, what abou-"

CRASH!

That crash came from behind me. I whirled around from my seat at our picnic table, my eyes widened a little. "Um…guys…what was that?"

The others looked in the direction it came from too.

CRASH!

Aletha yelped. "There it is again!"

I almost started hyperventilating. Something was heading towards our camp. _And it didn't sound friendly._

We all jumped up, our dinner forgotten. We started getting our packs, trying to find something we could use to defend ourselves with in case the situation called for it.

Anthony was the first to find something: a switchblade. He grabbed it and started heading towards the source of the crashing. I tried to call out for him to stop, but my voice was lost. He stopped at the edge of the clearing, searching through the trees to see if he could get a glimpse of…whatever it was that was in there.

I was able to find my voice again and yelled out to him. "Anthony! Get Back!"

He turned to me. "What?"

Then, suddenly, a giant blast of fire erupted from the forest, Anthony falling backwards to avoid the oncoming flames.

"AAUGH!" I heard him cry out. I watched the forest start to spread the flames more and more, leaving us trapped by the surrounding heat.

"Everybody! Stay together!" I yelled, trying to stay in control, but all around me, it was chaos.

I could hear the yells and footsteps of my friends around me. I couldn't see them amidst the smoke, but I could see their silhouettes and…something else too. I stumbled onto my back, trying to catch my breath, which, if you've ever been in the way of a fire or trapped in the middle of one, you'd understand how hard it is to do that.

My eyes were starting to water from the smoke, and it was getting hard to breath. I reached back and grabbed my backpack, making sure to keep it with me. I had a feeling I'd need it.

I tried to call out to everyone again, but all that I got out of trying was a mad coughing fit. I couldn't hear my friends anymore, just the beating of my own heart.

I was afraid. Afraid I was going to die in this stupid fire, afraid that I'd never see my friends and family again, and afraid that, whatever it was that was out there, was going to end up getting me. I could feel tears start to sting my already burning eyes. I lay there on the ground, trying to breath.

'This is it.' I thought, 'I'm going to die.'

I heard a crunch on the ground next to me and I turned my head to see the silhouette of the thing that attacked us. I heard more crunches surrounding me and saw that there were seven more of them. I felt terror rising up inside me. They were going to finish me off, just like they had with everyone else. I closed my eyes, waiting for it to come.

I heard one of them step closer, and I tensed up, expecting to come at any second. But, instead of the death blow I was waiting for, I felt a cold needle poke itself into my neck. I felt my muscles involuntarily relax before I felt of wave of exhaustion sweep over me. I opened my eyes again for a few seconds, trying to see who it was that'd done this to me, but all I could see was the eight blobs standing above me before a deep sleep took over me.

* * *

**Ok, before you guys jump tackle me to the ground for not updating in almost a year, I just want to let you know that, now that we've gotten past the _hardest_ part for me, we can really get the ball rolling and get more chapters out. I'm not making _any_ promises, but, hopefully, the next chapter will be out _soon_. **

**Anyway, Just Read, Review, And Hopefully Don't Kill Me!**

**Edit 9/8/11: Oh wow...I never really bothered to check on the first part of the chapter...How in the heck did that happen? DX Well, it's fixed now. Hopefully the next chapter will be out soon. I'll definitely be able to do more writing once I get my new laptop on the 21st. But, for now, my old one will have to do...even though it's getting really annoying...*shrugs* Oh Well.  
**


	3. Escape! Or not?

~Caity's POV~

I slowly blinked my eyes open as I started to regain consciousness. I could hear the scattered voices of my friends around me as my senses came back.

"Ugh…" I groaned as I pried my eyes open.

"Huh? Hey! Guys, she's waking up!" I heard Anthony shout to the others, which, by judging by the footsteps coming closer, meant they had been in the general area, but had been doing their own thing.

I groaned again as I finally got my eyes open and tried to sit up. Though, as soon as I got myself into a sitting position, I was tackled back to the ground.

"Caity!"

"A…Aletha, get off me!" I laughed as I pushed her off.

"Heheh, sorry, Caity. We've just been worried about you! We woke up about half an hour ago and when you didn't wake up, we started to worry!" explained Erika as she stood in front of me. She grinned as she offered me her hand. "Need help up?"

I smiled back, "Yeah, thanks." As I got up though, I finally started to take in our surroundings. What I saw though, I couldn't believe my eyes.

We were in a dark, dank dungeon that looked like it came out of medieval times. Only thing was, I felt like I recognized this dungeon the more I examined it. An idea started forming in my head and, to help confirm my suspicions, I walked over to the door that led out of our cell. There was a small hole in the door, I'm guessing so the guards could check on us without letting us out. Unfortunately, it was covered so I couldn't see the guards. I'd have to get them to open it somehow.

"Hey!" I shouted, "I gotta go take a whiz! Come on!"

"You can go in there prisoner." that was the only reply I got.

"Um…Where exactly?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

This got the result I wanted. The guard opened the mini sliding door and peeked in. What I saw took me aback, but also confirmed my suspicions.

"Over there in the corner! Now, don't talk to us!" the koopa guard said to me before he slammed the door back to it's closed state.

"Um…Caity…"

I turned around and looked at my friends, a huge grin plastered on my face. "Hey guys! I figured out where we are! We're in the Mushroom Kingdom!"

Well, needless to say, everyone's reactions were different. Lexie just shrugged it off with a "Nyeh. More video game stuff."

Erika was just staring blankly. I wasn't sure what she was thinking, but, then again, I wasn't sure I _wanted _to know what she was thinking.

Xavier smirked and simply replied with a "Wow, sweet!"

Aletha was over by the wall, jumping up and down and shouting about smelling sugar close by.

And, as for Josh and Anthony, well, they both freaked out happily and started up a fanboy conversation with each other.

Once I figured out where we were, I started to put two and two together. If we were in the Mushroom Kingdom…and we were in Bowser's dungeon, then I'm guessing the 8 beings that had attacked us in the forest had to have been his kids, since they were the only koopas I knew of who could breath fire. It made sense, now that I thought about it. But now, the questions were, Why were we kidnapped here, and how were we going to get out?

"Hey, guys." I said, trying to get everyone's attention. It…didn't work. I sighed before I tried again.

"Guys?" Still no response or recognition.

"GUYS!" I shouted, causing my six friends to look over to me and also causing the guard to yell at us to keep quiet.

"No yelling in there!"

"Oh, just go and stuff it, Idiot!" Lexie yelled back at the guard. This resulted in the two of them starting a yelling contest with each other.

Que facepalm from the rest of us.

"_Anyway_, ignoring Lexie, I need to discuss our situation with you all." I said, motioning for everyone to gather around so we could talk quietly without the guards catching on to us.

"Ok, so the first thing we have to do is remain ca-"

"SUGAR!"

I facepalmed again before continuing. "O…k, like I was saying. We have to remain calm about this. Let's just try not to think about the fact that we are in a _completely_ different world and let's try to think about the positive."

"What is so positive about being captive in a cell in the castle of one of the most evil beings in the Mushroom Kingdom?" Josh spoke up pessimistically.

"Hey! What makes you so sure we're in one of Bowser's dungeons, anyway?" Xavier retorted.

Josh was taken slightly aback, but, he quickly regained his composure. "Well, think about it, Xav. There is a koopa guarding our cell. Now, who else other than Bowser has koopas in their army?"

No answer.

"That's what I thought. Now, Caity, like I asked before, what is so positive about being held captive by Bowser? We can't fight back against them. We don't have any weapons, we don't have our bags, and we don't have any power-ups!"

"Well…at least we're all together, right?" I asked weakly.

"That's the only good thing, Caity. Let's face it. We're royally screwed!" Josh said angerly before stomping off to one of the corners.

Anthony looked at me worriedly before getting up. "I'll go talk to him. Don't worry."

I nodded as he walked back to Josh, trying to get through to him. I just sat there, deflated, trying so hard not to cry. I didn't know what to do. All the excitement that had been building up in me had just got stomped on and ground upon because of what Josh had said. I knew he was right…but, for everyone else's sake, I had to stay calm…But…

I felt one hand fall on my left shoulder and then another on my right. I looked up and saw Erika and Aletha there, smiling at me. I smiled back before I hugged them. "Thanks guys. I'm glad to know we're all together here. But, I'm just worried, that's all. What's going to happen to us?"

"Ugh, boys! You wouldn't believe what it is I have to deliver to that prissy daughter of Bowser's." We heard a new guard outside say.

"Wow, that's a pretty big bowl of candy you got there, Joe…Oh, hey! Can I see that bowl for a quick second?"

Erika and I both noticed Aletha start to bounce up and down at the mention of the sugar bowl that guard outside had. We both looked at each other before directing everyone else, including Lexie, who'd long since finished her yelling match with the guard and had joined us, towards the opposite end of the cell, a good distance away from the sugar addict.

It's a good thing we did too, cause the next thing that happened caused a pretty big ruckus on the other side of the cell.

"Uh, sure thing Kyle." Next thing we knew, Kyle had opened up the sliding door to our cell and started taunting us with candy. _Major mistake_ on his part.

"Hahaha! Look it, kiddies! Look who has _candy_! I do! Uh-huh! I Do! Hahahaha-uh-oh…"

Yeah…he had a good reason for that uh-oh. Cause, Aletha, in her sugar-obsessed state, had grabbed hold of his shoulders and, to this day, I have not been able to figure out how she did this. She pulled him and the candy bowl through the small opening in the door and started beating the tar out of him, yelling at him to give her the candy.

I looked over at Erika and she had the most funniest WTH face I've ever seen. I just couldn't help it. I laughed. Well, I _was_ laughing until the other two guards rushed in to help their comrade. That's when things got serious.

The entire cell was filled with the noise of fighting. I stood there for a few seconds in shock before joining into the fray, jumping onto one of the guard's head, causing him to go into his shell. I smirked before I shouted. "Hit the deck!" After my friends did just that, I picked up the shell and kicked it at the other guards, causing all of them to fall unconscious onto the floor.

"Whoa. Nice, Caity!" Josh said after the shell had stopped bouncing off the walls. I grinned sheepishly before becoming serious.

"Ok, time to blow this popsicle stand!" I said. They didn't even hesitate. We ran out of that cell before you could say 'Mushroom Kingdom', Aletha carrying the bowl of candy over her head in a frenzy.

We ran through the labyrinth of hallways, making sure to stay out of sight if anyone were to pass by. We almost got caught a few times, one of which was because Xavier sneezed as we were hidden in the shadows of a hallway. Fortunately, the two guards that were going by were too busy flirting with each other.

The other time we almost got caught, a few pixie stix had fallen out of Aletha's 'now captive' bowl of sugary goodness. A guard was just passing through the hallway when she tried to go back to get them. Anthony had to hold her back and cover her mouth as the guard found them and, promptly, started to empty the contents of the stixs into his mouth. Anthony had to keep from crying out as her thrashing in anger caused him to get smacked in the groin. It was a pretty close call, not only for us, but for the guard too.

We eventually got to a hallway where a glass door was located. I was surprised to find that nobody was guarding this fragile door and whatever lied inside. After making sure no guards or enemies were going to come down the hallway, I took a quick peek into the room. I nearly fell over when I saw what was inside.

"Guys, come here!" I whispered as I motioned them over. "Our bags are in there! Come on, let's grab them and then get out of this place!"

My friends nodded their agreement before filing through the glass door carefully. I took one last glance down the hallway before following suit. When I got in, I could already see everyone settled with their bags either over their shoulders or in their hands. I grinned. I was surprised our escape was going so smoothly. I walked forward to the table where my bag located and swiftly swung my bag over my shoulder.

"Alright guys. From here on out, we're going to have to be extra careful. If we get caught now…Well, let's not think about that. Come on, let's go." I said, my leadershippy-ness starting to take over again.

We were almost all out back into the hallway when a goomba turned the corner and saw us. We all stared at each other for a few moments, an awkward silence falling over us. At least, it _was_ awkward until the goomba started screaming bloody murder and running back down the hallway he'd come from. Moments later, an alarm started to ring loudly throughout the castle.

"Oh…" Xavier started.

"Shoot…" Lexie continued.

"We're so screwed now!" Josh exclaimed.

I couldn't help but agree. We were screwed. "Ok, we need to stay calm, not panic, and…Aww, screw it. Run!" I shouted as I started taking off down the hallway towards, what I hoped, was the exit.

We raced from hallway to hallway, trying to find the way out. Stealth didn't matter anymore. Not with that alarm blaring over our heads. I considered us pretty lucky to not have been caught yet.

But, sadly, our luck ended up running out just as we were in the same corridor as the front door. We were almost home free when guards of all different species started rushing in, guarding the way out. We started to turn back, but guards were blocking the way we'd just came. We were surrounded.

"Um…guys?" I whispered as the seven of us put ourselves back to back to each other, the seven of us in a small circle facing out.

"Yeah, Caity?" Xav whispered back as the guards slowly started closing the distance.

"Do you think we stand a chance of fighting them?" I asked, slight panic resounding softly from my voice.

I could see Anthony stiffen to the right of me and a look of determination came upon his face. "I don't know. But we have to try."

I nodded slowly, tightening my bag strap so it'd stay on. "Erika, how far do you think we are from the door?" I asked, my mind starting to form a plan.

"I'd say about 18 yards. What are you thinking?" Erika asked, her eyes questioning me before moving back to the guards, who were starting to pull out their weapons.

I didn't answer straight up. Instead, I just looked over the situation. The guards were almost upon us now, meaning we'd have to act fast. Between us and the door were only Goombas and Koopas, meaning, if we timed our jumps just right…I smiled smugly. Yeah, this would work.

"Ok, guys, listen carefully. We've got 18 yards, more or less in between us and the door. In that space, we've got only Goombas and Koopas. So, here's what I'm thinking. If we time our jumps right, we can pull a Mario Bros. and jump from enemy to enemy, reaching the door with ease." I paused for a second, looking over in the dark wings of the hallway. "The only problem is, we don't know what is waiting for us in the shadows, so we have to be careful. So, on the count of three, we run and jump our way out, ok?"

I could see Erika and Anthony nodding their heads, and I could hear a few whispered yes', as well as a low giggle from Aletha.

"Alright…one…"

I started counting down.

"Two…"

I stiffened myself, slightly putting myself into a run and jump position. I took a deep breath before shouting out the last number.

"Three!"

From there, I bolted, taking advantage of the slight change in gravity and vaulted over the first few guards. Some of the other enemies yelped in surprise as the others followed behind me. I guess they hadn't been expecting us to do that. I chuckled as I got closer and closer to the door. This was going a lot better than I'd expected.

Except for the fact that I'd just cursed it by thinking that. Cause, right after I finished that thought, I saw something rush towards me out of the corner of my eye. I took a quick glance, only to have a Chargin Chuck tackle me to the ground, pinning my arms behind my back as he slowly got off of me. Ow…so that's what it feels like to be hit by a semi…very painful.

As the Chuck pulled me to my feet, I could hear my friends giving out cries of protest, anger and pain, as well as one shout of "Don't you dare touch my sugar, you crazy footballer!" Oh course.

The Chuck started dragging me away from the door, towards the center of the room. I struggled, even though the football playin enemy was much stronger than me and was bigger than me too. In fact, most of the enemies were almost about the same size as I was. I'd always thought they'd only come up to my chest instead of my height. I felt like shrinking back a little bit, but I stood tall, rebellion evident on my face.

I took a quick look over at my friends and could see they were struggling too. Anthony looked into my eyes, as if he was trying to say something. He indicated with his eyes towards the door. I then realized what he was trying to say. We needed to break free and get to the door. But how? And would we all be able to make it? I pushed those thoughts out of my head. We _had_ to get out. No matter what. Even if only _one _of us made it, it'd make a big difference. But, how was I going to get out of this lug nut's grip?

Then, my eyes got a gleam of mischievousness that they don't normally get. I just remembered something. I glanced down to see that the Chargin Chuck's feet weren't protected, nor was his chest. I grinned before I stomped down _hard_ onto the Chuck's foot, causing him to let go of my wrists. But, I didn't stop there. I elbowed him in the gut before jumping over his head, making a run for the door.

I could feel adrenaline starting to creep into my system as I got closer to the door. I glanced behind me to see my friends following close behind again. I smiled. We'd make it this time.

I reached the door first and starting pushing it open. I was able to make it open just enough to get us out. I turned and motioned for them to come on, but, it was then I realized something was wrong. They were a foot behind me, and…were banging on open air?

I tried to run back to them, but I bumped my head into something when I got within 3 inches of them. Oh no…I couldn't be…an invisible wall? No! Then…that would mean…

"Well, looks like you all caused a lot of trouble." Kamek. I growled softly as he continued. "Well, no matter. There's no way you can get past that wall. Now, are you ready to go back to your cell like good prisoners?" He asked coldly.

I knew he wasn't going to give them a choice. Lexie turned her head in my direction and whispered. "Caity, go. We'll be fine."

I looked at her incredulously. _Leave them here?_ I couldn't. I _wouldn't_. But…they were counting on me. I was the only one on the other side of the wall. If I could make it to Mushroom Kingdom Castle…I could get help. I sighed deeply before nodding sadly. "Guys…?" I said softly to them.

The others turned their heads slightly in my direction.

"Be careful. I'll be back as soon as I can. Don't worry." I smiled. "I'm going to bring help and bust you guys out of here."

They nodded their heads. Aletha spoke up softly as the guards started coming towards them. "Go now, Caity. We're counting on you. Good luck."

I nodded to her. "Thanks. Ok, I'm going to need you guys to block the view of the door."

They didn't acknowledge me, only moved themselves closer together in front of where I was. I smiled sadly before running to the door and squeezing through the opening I'd made. I could hear angry shouting from inside as I pushed the huge door as hard as I could. I guess they realized they were missing one prisoner.

I finally got the door sealed and I fled to the bridge that divided the fortress and the rest of the world. I could feel sweat falling down my forehead as I ran, the heat of the lava getting more severe. I ran faster as I heard the guards start yelling, their footsteps echoing off the stone makings of the bridge.

The guards kept getting closer and now, Bullet Bills were flying towards my direction, desperate to shoot me down. One whizzed by me, narrowly missing my head by a few inches. I turned and saw another one coming straight at me. I rolled away to the right, the Bill exploding in the exact spot I'd been only seconds earlier.

I heard another one coming at me and, this time, I couldn't dodge it in time. I felt the searing burn as it exploded and I screamed as it knocked me over the edge of the bridge, towards the blinding hot lava below.

* * *

**Hi Guys! *dodges bullets* Hey! Not nice! I didn't make you guys wait a whole year like last time! It's only been two months. ^^; Anyway, I hope you guys liked the chapter. I got inspiration for the second half after holding it off for about a month and a half. So, I got that entire second half done in less than 3 hours. :D Isn't that awesome? :D **

**Also, as for the cliffhanger...Well, I can't tell ya! ;D You'll have to wait til next chapter to see if Caity survives! Yeah, I'm evil, aren't I? Anyway, if you guys see any mistakes or anything, or if there is anything that doesn't make any sense, let me know, I'll try to fix it. None of my friends are on right now, so they can't read over it to see if it's alright and I want to get this posted as soon as possible. So, let me know, k? ;)**

**Anyway, if you liked this chapter, put this story on your alerts, review, and tell me what you think! :D Thanks guys! See ya next chapter!**

**P.S. I've started college, so, I'm not sure how fast updates will be. Same for my other stories. So, don't get any hopes up for awhile. :P  
**


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